Family planning is the range of medical, educational, and support services that help people decide when, whether, and how to grow their families, and that support them through the physical and life changes that come with it. For employers, family planning services cover a broader scope than most benefits teams initially expect. They include fertility care, adoption and surrogacy support, pregnancy and postpartum care, and increasingly, menopause and low testosterone support.
This guide explains what family planning means in a workplace benefits context, what a well-built family planning program typically includes, and why employers are adding these benefits to attract and retain talent.
Key takeaways
- Family planning services span fertility treatment, adoption, surrogacy, pregnancy and postpartum care, and hormonal health support like menopause and low testosterone care.
- A family planning program is different from a single fertility benefit. It's a coordinated set of services designed to support employees at any life stage or family-building path.
- Employers add family planning benefits to reduce turnover, close gaps in standard health insurance, and support a workforce with widely different needs.
- Partners like Carrot help employers design and administer programs that cover this full spectrum instead of a narrow slice of it.
What is family planning, exactly?
What is family planning? In the simplest terms, it's the combination of care, information, and resources that let people plan their families on their own terms. That includes preventing or delaying pregnancy, actively trying to get pregnant, growing a family through adoption or surrogacy, and getting care during pregnancy and after a child arrives.
In a workplace context, "family planning" has grown beyond its traditional definition. Employers who offer family planning benefits are typically covering:
- Pre-pregnancy counseling and fertility testing
- Fertility treatment, including IUI and IVF
- Egg, sperm, and embryo preservation
- Adoption and surrogacy support
- Pregnancy, postpartum, and newborn care
- Menopause and perimenopause support
- Low testosterone and men's hormonal health
This wider definition matters because employees don't all start from the same place. Some are trying to get pregnant. Some are adopting. Some are managing menopause symptoms while still working full time. A narrow benefit that only covers IVF, for example, leaves most of that group without support.
Why family planning services matter to employers
Family planning services matter to employers because they address a gap that standard health insurance often leaves open. Many medical plans limit or exclude fertility treatment, adoption assistance, and hormonal health support, even though these needs affect a large share of the workforce.
A few reasons employers are paying closer attention:
Workforce demographics have shifted. People are starting families later, which increases the likelihood they'll need fertility support. At the same time, more women are working through menopause: nearly 50 million women in the U.S. labor force are age 35 or older, the range where symptoms typically begin, according to AARP research. Awareness of male fertility and hormonal health issues has also grown.
Retention is costly. Recruiting and onboarding a replacement employee is expensive. Gallup estimates that replacing a single employee costs one-half to two times their annual salary once recruiting, training, and lost productivity are counted, and benefits gaps in family planning are a common reason employees look elsewhere, particularly for candidates evaluating multiple offers.
Equity matters. Traditional benefits often assumed a narrow definition of "family," covering pregnancy but not adoption, surrogacy, or LGBTQ+ family-building paths. That gap is closing slowly: about 40% of large U.S. employers now offer inclusive family-building benefits, up from 32% in 2023, according to Mercer. A modern family planning program is built to serve employees regardless of relationship status, sexual orientation, or health history.
What a family planning program typically includes
A family planning program is the structured, administered version of family planning benefits. It's usually a dedicated program with its own enrollment process, provider network, and lifetime or annual benefit amount.
Most employer-sponsored family planning programs include some combination of the following:
Fertility care
Coverage for fertility testing, medication, IUI, and IVF, often with a defined dollar cap or number of cycles. Some programs also cover fertility preservation benefits (egg or sperm freezing) for employees who want to delay family building for medical or personal reasons.
Adoption and surrogacy support
Financial assistance for adoption fees, legal costs, and agency fees, along with support for surrogacy arrangements, including compensation, legal, and medical costs associated with a gestational carrier.
Pregnancy and postpartum care
Support that extends past fertilization, including maternity care coordination, lactation support, and postpartum mental health resources. Some programs include care navigation for high-risk pregnancies.
Menopause and low testosterone support
A newer but fast-growing category. These benefits cover diagnosis and treatment for menopause symptoms and low testosterone, conditions that affect job performance and retention but are rarely addressed in standard plan design. See menopause workplace benefits for how this coverage typically works.
How employers choose a family planning benefits partner
Building this kind of program from scratch, negotiating with fertility clinics, adoption agencies, and specialists, is not practical for most HR teams. That's why most employers work with a dedicated family planning benefits partner rather than trying to administer the program directly through their existing health plan.
When evaluating a partner, employers typically look at:
Breadth of coverage. Does the program address fertility, adoption, surrogacy, and hormonal health, or only one piece of it?
Provider network quality. Are employees connected to vetted clinics and specialists, or left to find their own?
Inclusivity of eligibility. Does the program serve single employees, same-sex couples, and employees without a medical infertility diagnosis, not just heterosexual married couples?
Ease of administration. Can HR teams set benefit amounts, track utilization, and support employees without building new internal processes?
Carrot is one example of a partner built around this broader definition of family planning. Carrot's program is designed to support employees across fertility, adoption, surrogacy, pregnancy and postpartum, menopause, and low testosterone care, all administered through a single benefit rather than a patchwork of point solutions. For employers, that means one program to evaluate and manage instead of stitching together separate vendors for each life stage.
Frequently asked questions
What is family planning in a workplace benefits context?
In a workplace benefits context, family planning refers to the employer-sponsored services that help employees plan, grow, or manage their families. This typically includes fertility treatment, adoption and surrogacy assistance, pregnancy and postpartum support, and hormonal health care such as menopause and low testosterone treatment.
What's the difference between family planning benefits and a family planning program?
Family planning benefits describe the specific services offered (fertility treatment, adoption support, and so on). A family planning program is the administered structure around those benefits: enrollment rules, benefit caps, provider networks, and the vendor or partner managing it.
Do family planning benefits only apply to employees trying to have children?
No. A well-designed family planning program also supports employees managing menopause or low testosterone, those pursuing adoption or surrogacy, and those who want to preserve fertility for later. It's built for a range of family-building paths and life stages, not a single scenario.
How much do employers typically spend on family planning benefits?
Costs vary widely based on benefit design, company size, and utilization. Many employers set an annual or lifetime maximum per employee, and some structure the program in tiers based on role, tenure, or a flat allowance. A benefits partner can help model expected costs based on workforce demographics before the program launches.
Are family planning benefits required by law?
In most cases, no. Coverage requirements vary by state and plan type, and few jurisdictions mandate the full range of fertility, adoption, and hormonal health services described here. Employers generally choose to offer these benefits voluntarily to remain competitive and support their workforce, rather than because of a legal requirement.
Where this fits in your benefits strategy
Family planning services touch a wider slice of the workforce than most benefits leaders assume going in. They not only include employees actively trying to get pregnant, but those adopting, managing menopause, or supporting a partner through fertility treatment. Before finalizing a program, be sure to review what your current health plan already covers, where the gaps are, and which employee populations those gaps affect most.
The next step is usually a closer look at how fertility benefits specifically are structured, since that's the most heavily utilized part of most family planning programs and the piece employers most often get wrong on scope or eligibility. If you're evaluating how a family planning program would fit your workforce, get in touch with us.
